Mobile Fidelity - MFSL 1-411 - 180 Gram Vinyl - AAA 100% Analogue

Mastered by Kreig Wunderlich from the Original Master Tape at MFSL

Numbered Limited Edition -  - Pressed at RTI  - 

Half Speed Mastered on the Mobile Fidelity The Gain 2 Ultra Analog System

Mastered from the Original Master Tapes!

1980 Set First of Duo's Record-Breaking Trilogy of Smash Albums Includes "Kiss on My List," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," "You Make My Dreams," and "Everytime You Go Away" Self-Produced Album Marks Pair's Transition Towards Fusion of Sleek Pop, Melodic New Wave, and Blue-Eyed Soul Divine

Sonics: Spacious, Polished Production Shines on Mobile Fidelity Reissue

Freeing themselves from soulful folk, Hall & Oates developed into household names on 1980’s sleek, stylish, and pop-sophisticated Voices — a blockbuster Rolling Stone perfectly described as teaching the group “the way to make rock girls, disco girls, and new-wave girls scream together.

” Anchored by the smashes “Kiss On My List” and “You Make My Dreams,” it signifies the beginning of the all-time best-selling boy-boy duo’s chart dominance that continued with Private Eyes and H20, multi-platinum affairs that strike a keen equilibrium between polish, melody, muscle, and craft. 1980s pop doesn’t come more vetted.

Daryl Hall has inferred that if Voices failed to catch fire, it would have likely signaled the end of he and John Oates’ recording career together. Suffice it to say that the 1980 effort not only caught on—it established a production and songwriting template that would help largely define the decade. The album also propelled Hall and Oates into the mainstream and turned them into superstars, placing them at the top of the charts for a multi-year run during which the duo proved superior singers, master songwriters, and visionary producers.

Self-produced, the record’s sonics were key to its success. As evidenced by the greater information and finer details found in this analog edition’s grooves, the polished, sleek, and open sound works hand-in-hand with the arrangements. Hall and Oates’ knack for stylish tones, instrumental placement, and edgy accents has never been clearer—literally or figuratively. This LP is nothing short of a game-changer.

By the dawn of the 1980s, Hall and Oates had already released more than a half-dozen albums and attached themselves to a folk-pop model they gradually took in blue-eyed soul directions. Hints of a pop/new wave/R&B amalgamation initially appear on 1979’s X-Static, but only fully come into play with confidence, conviction, and commercial flair on Voices. Arriving upon a near-flawless fusion of dance grooves, soft rock rhythms, smooth vocals, romantic sentiments, catchy beats, and spotless hooks, the collaborators simultaneously crossed over into multiple markets and eradicated stylistic boundaries.

Rightly recognized for its four hit singles—the irresistible “Kiss on My List,” building “You Make My Dreams,” cover of the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” and original rendition of the poignant “Every Time You Go Away,” which Paul Young took to the top of the charts years later—Voices towers as both an 80s masterpiece and all-time pop classic. 

Independent of the ubiquitous fare, the record holds up courtesy of the deep-album cuts. There isn’t a weak note or false move to be found. Hall and Oates paint “United State” with uptempo assertiveness; “Big Kids” passes as first-rate new-wave rock; “Diddy Doo Wop (I Hear the Voices)” pays loving tribute to the duo’s doo-wop influences; “Gotta Lotta Nerve (Perfect Perfect)” oozes emotional rawness. 

Features:
• Numbered, Limited Edition
• Half-Speed Production and Mastering by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
• Specially Plated and Pressed on 180 grams of High Definition Vinyl
• Special Static Free - Dust Free Inner Sleeve
• Heavy Duty Protective Packaging
• Mastered from the Original Master Tapes

Co-producer – Neil Kernon
Mixed By – Hugh Padgham
Producer – Daryl Hall, John Oates

Selections:
1. How Does It Feel to Be Back
2. Big Kids
3. United State
4. Hard to Be In Love With You
5. Kiss on My List
6. Gotta Lotta Nerve (Perfect Perfect)
7. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
8. You Make My Dreams
9. Everytime You Go Away
10. Africa
11. Diddy Doo Wop (I Hear Voices)

GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ is a proprietary cutting system built and designed by legendary design genius Tim De Paravicini, with consultation from one of MFSL’s founding fathers – Stan Ricker, an audio engineer responsible for many of MFSL’s most heralded past releases.

The GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system is comprised of a Studer™ tape machine with customized reproduction electronics* and handcrafted cutting amps that drive an Ortofon cutting head on a restored Neumann VMS-70 lathe. (*It is worth noting that independent studies have confirmed that the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system can unveil sonic information all the way up to 122kHz!)

First and foremost, we only utilize first generation original master recordings as source material for our releases. We then play back master tapes at half speed enabling the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system to fully extract the master’s sonic information. Our lacquers are then plated in a specialized process that protects transients in the musical signal. (Due to this process, there may be occasional pops or ticks inherent in initial play back, but as the disc is played more, a high quality stylus will actually polish the grooves and improve the sound). We further ensure optimum sound quality by strictly limiting the number of pressings printed for each release. These limited editions, in addition to being collectors’ items, ensure that the quality of the last pressing matches the quality of the first.

As you can imagine, all these efforts involve a tremendous amount of time, technology, cost and effort. The introduction of GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ maintains Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s position as the world’s leading audiophile record label, where a passion for music with extraordinary sound quality matters most.